A new survey suggests that US impressions of China are becoming increasingly favorable.

Earlier this month, US research firm Gallup telephone interviewed over one thousand adults from all 50 US states, and found that 50% of them had a favorable opinion of China, up from 44 percent in 2016. This represents the highest reading for this measure in Gallup trends since a 72 percent reading in February 1989.

The six-percentage-point rise is explained by increases among both Democrats and Republicans. The poll found that Democrats and Independents view China far more favorably than Republicans do. While just 38 percent of Republicans view China favorably, this is nevertheless a 10 percent increase from 2016.